I am a Latin America focused analyst and writer. I split my time between New York City and Mexico City. I have written feature articles on business, organized crime, politics, and culture for The Atlantic, MONOCLE, Americas Quarterly, The Nation, Lapham's Quarterly, and a number of other publications. I have worked on projects along Mexico's northern border as well as in the hills of places like Jalisco, Michoacan, and Guerrero. I have a Master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University (SIPA). In the last few years I've had the chance to work on projects in Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, India, and China. Follow me on Twitter: LatAmLENS.

June Mexico Media Roundup: Another Month Of Vigilantes And Violence In Michoacan

The first half of 2014 has seen the “autodefensa” citizens’ militias in the southwestern state of Michoacan, Mexico take control of local security and checkpoints along roadways in one of the country’s most problematic regions. Michoacan has also seen attacks against a Pepsi subsidiary and the murder of an ArcelorMittal employee. New rules imposed by Mexico’s federal government in May were put in place to regularize the autodefensas into a uniformed police force called the Fuerza Rural and ban ordinary citizens from carrying machine guns. Throughtout the course of June, however, armed citizens continued to carry out operations in Michoacan.

On June 4, I tweeted a link to this Borderland Beat article which explains “With rifles and pistols of all sizes, including those reserved exclusively for the Mexican Army, self-defense groups are still in the towns and villages of Michoacán.” The article also explains that on May 27 autodefensa fighters carrying military grade weapons participated alongside Federal Police in a gunfight with Templario cartel members. Although in theory Mexico’s federal government replaced the ad hoc agglomeration of autodefensa fighters with the formal, uniformed Fuerza Rural police force, in practice, the new unit hasn’t set up shop in many parts of the state.

On June 8 I tweeted a link to this story which includes a complaint from a Federal Police officer who says “the Ministry of the Interior doesn’t have the resources to sustain the presence of the Federal Police operating in this part of the state. We’re under the oversight of the autodefensas.”

Throughout the month, as Mexico turned its attention to the World Cup, the situation in Michoacan continued to simmer with Mireles accusing the Fuerza Rural and federal government of colluding with drug traffickers to bring about a semblance of peace in the state.

On June 27, InSight Crime published this report explaining “On June 26, around 300 armed vigilantes led by Jose Manuel Mireles — the former spokesman of the General Council of the Michoacan Self-Defense Forces — took over the town of La Mira an hour outside of Lazaro Cardenas.” Mireles, who has accused the Fuerza Ruraland the government of colluding with organized crime, said that he and his men chose to take action because “the government doesn’t act while Michoacan remains in flames.” The InSight Crime report explains, Moves to legalize Michoacan’s self-defense forces, which were originally created in Michoacan to fight the Knights Templar cartel, have exacerbated tensions in the movement’s leadership by creating a clear dividing line between those involved in the new Rural Defense Forces and those left on the outside.”

However, in a Friday afternoon operation on June 27 Mexican security forces detained Mireles and several dozen of his men. Earlier in the day Mireles had said in an interview, “[we’ll advance] throughout the state. Morelia [the state capital] is one of the objectives to clean up. This is the initial project: finish with Michoacan’s coast and [later] advance to the capital.”

On June 30, 2014 I tweeted a link to this article which explains that Mireles is still in custody.

In the short term, Mireles arrest may block his movement. But, the murder of vocal autodefensa member José Santiago Valencia Sandoval, (detailed in this Washington Post story by Josh Parlow) indicates that the tensions in Michoacan are far from resolved. Mireles movement has been checked, but Mexican social media networks are alight with messages demanding his release. At the halfway point of 2014 the militias in Michoacan remain a pressing issue for Mexico.

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